b-ueger



A (No Model.)

e 2 Sheets Sheet 1. eeRUEeER. ORB GONG'ENTRATOR.

No. 287,173. Patented Oct, 23, 1883.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. C. RUEGER.

ORB GONGENTRATOR.

No. 287,173. Patented 00p 23,.,1883.

MGC-6.

N. Pneus. mnvumugnphef, wnhingmfnc UNirnD STATESv ArtNr fri-iron.

CHARLES C. RUEGER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ORE-CONCENTRATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters :Patent` No. 287,173, datedOctober 23, 1883.

Application filed February 24, 1883. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern! Be it known that I, CHARLES C. RUEGER, of thecity and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have inventedan Improved Ore- Concentrator; and I hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of concen- -trators which are used toseparate ore when 1o in the condition of'more or less iine sand, andrefers more especially to the machines'known in the art aspercussion-tables.

My invention consists in certain details of construction andcombinations of parts, as

hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure l is a perspective view of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection taken through the center. Fig. 3 is a top view of two tables,showing the frame only in the right- 2o hand table, and the frame partlycovered in the left-hand table, with other details of construction.'Fig. 4 is a front view of a` part of the discharge end'of tables,showing details of construction and relative position of adjacentoutside angles.

The machine is -provided with a series of triangular tables, A,constructed in any manner that will give a durable and smoothworking-surface. These triangular tables, together 3o with otheroperating parts, as will hereinafter appear, are arranged radiallyaround a vertical shaft, B, securely fastened to it in any desiredmanner and to each other. A suitable inclination is given to the tables,placing the 3 5 three corners of each at different levels, butcorresponding in each table, being highest at the center shaft, with theradial line of greatest pitch along one side of the table, so that onlyalternate outside corners of the triangles 4o will be on the samelevel-. e. the higher outside corners, @,will correspond, as also willthe lower outside corners, b. AThe triangular tables are constructedpreferably as follows, Figs. 3 and 4: Two bars of angle-iron, C, ofequal length, are joined to an apexl by riveting their upper ends to apiece of iron plate, the lower ends being riveted to a cast-irongutter-shaped bar, D, thus forming the triangle. Into the triangularframe thus formed a iioor 5o of boards is laid, so as to form atrueplane,T.

This plane surface is covered with thick rubber cloth, which gives awater-proof, smooth working-surface, U. The rubber cloth and board floorare held in place by strips V, screwed to the iron frame-work. Asufficient number of these triangular tables are arranged around thecommon central shaft, B, to close the circuit, and thus form a conicalaggregation of tables. It is quite evident that though I have describedmy device as consisting of a 6o series of tables any number greater thantwo can be used without departing from the spirit of my invention. Theseveral tables are then firmly joined to each other by riveting togetherthe angle-iron side bars, C, making provision for a possible 4changedesirable in the inclination ofthe planes by inserting exchangeablepieces of iron, S, having rivet-hol es of varying heights between thesidebars. The castiron gutter-shaped bars D, which unite the 7oangle-iron side bars,form the periphery of the conical aggregation oftables. The further -purpose of theseI gutters D is to serve asreceptacles and conduits for the various products flowing from theconcentrating-planes. 75 For each product a separate compartment isprovided in the Agutters by putting into themy a sufficient number ofpartitions, E. The products of concentration take their eXit from thesecompartments through holes F in the bottoms of the gutters connectingwith outflow-pipes G Cr', which conduct the products to receptaclessuitably disposed underneath f the machine. All the outflow-pipes Gf forthe poor or waste product (and others, if desirable) are run to thebottom of the central shaft, and are firmly lfastened to both gutter andshaft, so as to serve as a stay or brace to the tables, increasing therigidity of the structure, and preventing injurious vibrations when inoperation. The discharge ends of these pipes G G may be led in differentdirections, carrying the waste product in one direction and the valuablepro duct in another and, as sh own, one set of pipes may carry itsproduct to a circular trough or gutter surroundingthe central shaft,from which it may be discharged into said shaft, if desired, by makingit hollow and perforating it at proper points.

The supporting-frame for the concentrator consists of one or more arcs,H, of cast-iron, bolted together, for a full series of tables to rooform a ring, and it is provided above and below the tables with bearingsat the center for the upright shaft to which `the tables are attached.On this cast-iron frame is the driv ing mechanism of the concentrator,consisting of a short horizontal shaft, I, with belt-pulley J andcam Kattached. The cam, rotating, pushes against a bar, L, projecting fromone of the tables, thus acting against the pressure of a spring, M, sodisposed that when the bar is released from the cam-face the tablerecoils against one or more abutments, N. The rapid reciprocating actionof the concentrator by the cam and spring effects the agitation of thepulp, and the percussion effects its diagonal course over the plane, inthe manner subsequently described. In this mannerone cam will drive anumber of tables, which number is only limited by the closing of thecircuit. By having a cam at each end of the shaft, and making the lattercommon to two frames, two full series of tables can be driven with onebelt and with proportionately less power than one series, thus givingthe greatest possible economy of space, power, and motive mechanism. Theaction of the concentrator most closely resembles that of the. Rittingerside percussion-table, in so far that the ore pulp, while flowing downan inclined table, is agitated by an oscillating motion given to theplane, which allows the particles to settle in the order of theirdensity. At the same time they are subjected to a lateral percussiveaction, which causes them to take a diagonal course on the planeinvowi'ng down toward the dischargeedge. The Rittinger table, however,is a rectangular parallelogram, or a series of such parallelograms setparallel to each other, sus` pended from rods, and inclined at an angleof from three to siX degrees, the upper and lower edges or rims beinghorizontal, making the line of greatest pitch run parallel to the longsides. In my invention the concentrating-ta- Y ble is of triangularform, a series lof them radiating and inclined from a common centralaxis, and the line of greatest inclination a: running from apoint on oneof the radial sides to the opposite outside corner or angle, b, ofthetriangular table, so that the three angles of the table are atdifferent elevations, the most acute central angle being the highest. Inmy invention, also, the ore pulp runs upon the tables through openings Oin a circular trough-shaped distributer, l?, which is common to theseries of tables, and affixed to the central aXis. Ihe pulp spreads in athin layer over the table and runs down toward the lowest corners,subjected meanwhile to an agitating action, which facilitates thesettling of the denser particles, anda percussive action, which causesvthe pulp to travel toward the higher outside corner of the triangularplane. This agitating and percussive action is not uniform over thelength of the table, as in the Rittinger machine, but accelerative,increasing as the pulp approaches the discharge-edge.

The motion also is not in straight lines, as in the Rittinger machine,but in arcs of concentric circles, which induces a centrifugal action onthe ore particles favorable to separation. The denser ore particlestraveling most slowly downward, by virtue of their greater adhesion tothe surface of the plane, are subjected longest to these actions, whichcauses them to take a more diagonal course than the less denseparticles. In their course they are met by a current orvcurrents of moreor less clear water, (shown with dotted lines in drawings) which ow fromperforated pipes Q, extending from the central distributing-trough, R,to thehigher outside corners of the tables. The flow of this clear waternaturally being toward the lowest corner, it must cross the course ofthe concentrates, carrying the less dense particles still admixedtherewith toward their proper place of discharge. The three usualproducts of concentration-i. e., tailings or waste, concentrates, and amixture of the two, called middlingsiio`w into the separate compartmentsof the gutter D, attached to the lower edges of the triangular tables,and thence through orices and discharge-pipes into suitable receptaclesin the manner already above described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a concentrating apparatus, the triangular tables A, having theirangles at different levels, in combination with mechanism by which thetables receive a side percussive motion, means for delivering the pulpto be concentrated upon the tables at their highest angles, and 'pipesfor delivering jets of water along the highest radial sides of saidtables, substantially as described.

2. In a concentrating apparatus, a series of independent triangulartables, A, radiating and inclining downward from a common center, andhaving also an independent lateral inclination, in combination withmeans for 1 ro discharging pulp and water upon the highest portion ofthe table, and amechanism by which a rotary percussive motion isimparted to the tables, substantially as herein described.

8. In a concentrating apparatus, the combi- I 15 nation of a series ofindependent triangular tables radiating from 4a common center, saidtables being united to form a complete circuit in which the outsideedges of each triangle will be on the same level, and means for im- 12oparting to said tables a percussive movement around the common centerand toward the highest radial sides, substantially as herein described.

4. In a concentrating apparatus, a series of 12 5 triangular tables, A,radiating from a common center, and having their adjacent exteriorangles at different levels, in combination with the central pulp-supply,I), the radialwaterpipes Q, the rotary cam K, acting upon the 13otables, the spring M, and the abutment N, substantially as hereindescribed.

roo

y 5. In a concentrating apparatus, the trianand pipes G G',substantially as herein degular tables A, having each of their angles atscribed. different levels, with devices for supplying In Witness whereofI hereunto set my hand. Io

pulp and Water to the tables, and mechanism CHARLES CONRAD RUEGER. 5 forproducing a percussive action upon the Witnesses:

tables, in combination With the gutter` or JAS. TOBIN,

trough I), partitions E, discharge-openings F, J. H. BLOOD.

